Doctor Who Prompt Challenge
by ShellyLeigh893
Summary: 50 prompts challenge featuring Jack/Rose, Nine/Rose, Nine/Rose/Jack, and Nine/Jack
1. All Good Things

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing from this man she wouldn't have recognized if he hadn't changed from the Doctor she'd known and loved to this stranger right in front of her. Her Doctor - no, her and Jack's Doctor was gone and what's worse is this new guy had left Jack behind to fend for himself, not even giving him the courtesy of explaining to him what she'd done to him or why he apparently wasn't welcome on the TARDIS anymore.

It wasn't that she doubted Jack's ability to land on his feet, he'd be fine she was sure but that wasn't the point. Jack didn't deserve to be abandoned without explanation of why by the people he loved. He didn't deserve to be left untold about his new future only to find out when he inevitably came back to life. Not to mention the fact that not knowing about that ability could be dangerous in of itself if Jack wasn't careful.

Then there was the fact that while Jack would bounce back physically, the emotional damage would be irrevocable. She and the Doctor had worked hard to get Jack to trust them, to open up to them, to break the wall of mistrust the betrayal of the Time Agency had inflicted on him. And it scared her that this new Doctor was callous enough to run away without even a goodbye all because of the immortality she herself had inflicted on their lover.

She shook her head against the guilt bubbling inside her, Jack would now outlive all of the Doctor's regenerations thanks to her just wanting him to be alive. She wasn't sure which was worse, having lost him on the Gamestation or forcing him to lose them and anyone that could come after them. Making a decision, she says,

"Take me back." The Doctor looked at her for a moment before responding,

"He may not even be there anymore." She met his gaze. It was clear he didn't want to lose her too but he really should have thought about that before leaving the last of their trio behind without even a by your leave.

"Then track him down, and take me there. I have to see him, explain what I did to him. I know I won't be able to stay with him forever but I still love him; I won't abandon him."

"You think I don't still love him?" He glared at her, she could see he resented her implication.

"Then show it." She said.

"Rose, you don't understand, he's a fixed point in time. He'll always grate against my senses. It can't be the same, no matter how much I want it to be."

"You really think that's the problem?"

"It's not?" She rolled her eyes.

"We always knew this wouldn't last forever, Jack would understand that. The problem is you running away from telling him why it's over. You don't do that to someone you claim to love."

"What would you have me do Rose?"

"Take me to him, then be prepared to drop him off where and when he wants to be. It's what you'd have done when he first joined us, even before feelings came into play. Surely that's the least you can do now." She smiled as he nodded.


	2. Mistake

Prompt: Mistake  
Rating: PG-13

"Can you repeat that?"

"You're pregnant, Rose." The Doctor said. She caught his eyes, and couldn't identify the emotions displayed there and really she wasn't actually trying to, she was more concerned about keeping her breathing even. She wasn't ready, she was only twenty after all and her life wasn't suitable for a baby. With that thought the real panic set in, she couldn't continually have to run for her life as a mum and she wouldn't be the kind of mum that saddled her own mum with raising her grand baby so she could continue to risk her life.

"It'll be okay." She heard the Doctor whisper in her ear as his strong, slightly cooler than her arms folded around her. She took a deep breath and thought about her options. Abortion, adoption, or keeping their baby. The thought of aborting the life growing within her caused her to have to swallow against the bile rising in her throat so that's out. She'd have to find out whether Jack or the Doctor was the father before she could consider adoption. If it was Jack's the only issues would be what she and Jack want to do but if it was the Doctor's that could be a bigger issue. She obviously couldn't give up a Human-Time Lord hybrid on Earth in her time but she knew nothing about other times and/or places. Then even if there is a way to give up the baby safely, there's still the issue of what she and the Doctor wanted to do. Keeping the baby, even if that's what the father wanted too, would mean she'd either have to go home or be resigned to staying behind in the TARDIS lest she risk one of the Doctor's more bumbling mistakes that left them running for their lives even on what should have been a peaceful planet/time period.

She took a deep breath and decided one step at a time; looking at the Doctor, she asked,

"Can you tell whose it is?"

"It's Jack's, Rose. Different species, us. Our reproduction systems aren't similar enough to allow for cross-breeding." He says like it should have been obvious. Like she's supposed to know that while his outer anatomy is compatible enough to sleep with her, he's not compatible to impregnate her. She bites her lip to keep from snapping at him.

"Okay." She says, but then something else occurs to her, "But what about Jack's implant, to prevent things like this so he doesn't risk becoming his own grandfather or whatever?"

"I'd have to examine him to be sure, but I'd guess that it either malfunctioned or was disabled sometime in those two years of memories he's missing." She takes a deep breath, again to control the morning sickness that's been plaguing her. She thinks she has it under control until she hears,

"What do my missing memories have to do with what's making Rose sick?" Jack asks.

"Maybe nothing, but I need to examine you first. Lay back." Rose comes back and takes the now bemused Jack's hand while the Doctor finds the right equipment and then unbuttons Jack's fly to get to the pubic area. She doesn't quite stifle a giggle as she thinks that it looks like Jack's getting an ultrasound only without the cold jelly that doctors, at least in her time, use.

"Doctor?" Jack asks, confusion clear in his tone. The Doctor ignores him for a few minutes before he says,

"Jack, when the Time Agency took your memories, they also reversed the procedure they used to make you sterile."

"Why?" Rose asked.

"Short of asking whoever did it I can't be sure, but best guess? Someone most likely hoped to use Jack's proclivities to do their own dirty work. I'd say it's only extremely good luck that he hasn't done exactly what that person wanted by tying his own time line in such a knot as to cause whatever the consequences are to being your own ancestor."

"What does this... Rose sick...you mean?." Rose and the Doctor watched as the penny dropped. Jack looked shell shocked as he faced Rose.

"Congratulations papa." She said, sounding about as excited as he looked. Her fears came back tenfold as Jack fled. Suddenly she felt the Doctor's arms around her, and heard him whisper in her ear,

"He'll do right by you." Of course he would, of that she had no doubt. Jack loved her just as much if not more than he loved the Doctor. He'd move heaven and earth to take care of her and the little one, that wasn't what scared her. No, what left her terrified is the resentment that was bound to set in at some point; that she, Jack or both of them would just see a mistake instead of the unplanned gift that this babe would be . As much as she loved Jack, and knew Jack loved her she also knew that Jack was not the picket fence sort. Neither was she at this point in her life but with a baby, she'd have to pick a century to settle down into; most likely hers since she wasn't going to ask that he stop traveling with the Doctor which meant she'd need her mum. Slowly she took a breath and snuggled closer into the comfort being offered.

###

Later, not long after the Doctor walked her back to their shared bedroom along with a bottle of some kind of pregnancy friendly anti - nausea, a knock sounded just before Jack strolled into the room exuding an obviously fake casualness.

"Since when do you knock to enter your own bedroom?" She asked. He shrugged, looking probably as unsure as she'd ever seen him. Thankfully, they'd been living and sleeping together long enough she could read him like a book. She patted the bed next to her until he sat down and tentatively put his arms around her. She snuggled into the embrace as she said,

"I'm not mad you know, about you fleeing when I broke the news. You panicked, trust me, so did I."

"It doesn't matter, I shouldn't have reacted like that. Rose, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I even put you in this position to begin with. I should have had the Doctor check that before I assured you we were protected." She rolled her eyes heavenward, save her from self-recriminating men. She turned in his arms until she could look directly into his eyes before she said,

"Jack, it's not your fault. Whoever reversed the procedure timed it just right so it'd be part of the memories you don't have so there's no way you could have known it'd been reversed and we both messed up in not thinking about a backup method since futuristic or not, it wasn't meant to be fail proof. But what matters now isn't how it happened but what we're going to do about it.

"Do about it?"

"I don't know what women from your time do, but in my time we had three options: abortion, adoption, and keeping the baby and if you choose any of those but the last one, you won't have to worry about this happening again." She paused, well that decided what she wanted.

"Yes ma'am, but I'm thinking you'd be hurting us both, and the Doctor too." Jack quipped. She smiled, glad to see him acting more like himself.

"Wouldn't want that."

"Castration threats aside, I'd have never suggested either of those first options. I may not have wanted this but I'm not going to shirk it either." Rose froze, rationally she knew Jack didn't mean that how it sounded to her, hell she knew that she hadn't particularly wanted this either but her biggest fear was that she and Jack would end up resenting each other over the decisions and compromises that would have to be made.

"Rose, Rose, sweetheart, talk to me." Starting to cry, she poured out her thoughts and concerns, the fear that plagued her since the Doctor broke the news. She spoke of not wanting to ask him to give up traveling with the Doctor but that she didn't know if she could handle being confined to the TARDIS or the Powell Estates back home sick with worry about whether they'd come back. She spoke of not wanting their baby to grow up hearing stories about the father they'd never meet because he was taken too soon. She also spoke of not wanting him to resent her or the baby for forcing him to settle down especially in what he'd consider a primitive century where he'd be bored out of his mind without all the tech he was used to. Finally she mention that she didn't want to end up resenting their baby either for forcing her to settle down before she was ready. Then she let out a watery laugh and said,

"I wonder if the hormones are already kicking in, cause 'm not usually like this." She startled when two different hands took her own, she hadn't realized the Doctor had come in the room. She focused on those hands as Jack spoke

"Rose, I don't know what'll happen in the future as far as this kid, but I do know that whatever decisions have to be made, we'll - as in all three of us - make them together." Jack said, just as the Doctor added, "And none of us will ever think this gift is a mistake."


	3. Pride

He'd been looking forward to seeing Rose despite the fact that the very nature of her request suggested she wasn't back to stay but still, in the back of his mind, he held hope. He knocked on the Tardis, and waited for Rose who would most likely be the one to answer so imagine his surprise when some bloke he'd never seen before tries to send him on his way. He pushed past, and after correcting the Doctor on his name yet again, hugged Rose.

In the background, he heard the new bloke and the Doctor flirting. For a moment, he thought that maybe that meant that she'd be coming home soon, that he hadn't lost her; that brought equals measures of happiness and guilt. Happiness, because he'd missed her and guilt because he'd tried to move on while she really was just taking advantage of the opportunities the alien provided her with.

Shoving that down, he hands Rose her passport and listens to the exchange between her and Big Ears. The happiness from a moment before deflates and without thought he says,

"Sounds like you're staying…then." An awkward silence follows, and to break it he says,

"So what are you doing in Cardiff? And who the hell's Jumping Jack Flash? I mean I don't mind you hanging out with Big ears up there."

"Oi" He hears the Doctor protest to which he responds, "Look in the mirror. But this guy, I don't know, he's kinda…." He trails off, trying to decide why this new guy bothers him more than the aforementioned Big Ears.

"Handsome?" The bloke fills in.

"More like cheesy." He retorts. The new bloke is saying something he's only listening to with half an ear, then the Doctor jumps in. Finally Rose answers his first question, clearly as a way to put an end to the bickering. He listens as the three of them explain, finishing each other's sentences like they've rehearsed this little speech.

A little time later, after the conversation about why the ship looks like a 60s police box, and Rose had taken the Doctor's arm and rested her head on his shoulder and the Captain on the other side of her, leaving him to bring up the rear. By the time they'd make it to the diner for lunch, he'd put an effort into ignoring how badly the two blokes rubbed him the wrong way and was actually having a good time, well until the Doctor found that picture of a surviving farting alien.

By the time they'd brought the prisoner back to the TARDIS, Mickey had been all too happy to escape the ship and be alone with Rose. He thought he'd be even happier when she admitted she hadn't actually needed the passport she'd requested he bring her but it left a sour taste in his mouth. He swallowed the thought, and asked her about going off by themselves, even possibly getting a room for the night.

It wasn't until they were arguing about Trisha Delaney, his feelings spewing forward and her interrupting to run back to him, to them that he realized what his subconscious had been trying to tell him. He was supposed to be her boyfriend but he'd had to watch her run off with him, had to deal with both the police and her mother's accusations when she didn't come for a year, even now he dropped everything with just one phone call. He'd tried to hold on, let her have the adventures he couldn't hope to give her but the clues he'd tried so hard to ignore made themselves blatantly obvious, her heart wasn't with him. She might love him still, but she wasn't his anymore.

The realization hurt his pride but it also solidified what he had to do. He'd offered to wait forever if she could just offer him something in return. Since she couldn't or wouldn't, he needed to let her go; she'd be happier with her two blokes, and he'd finally have closure and be able to move on.


	4. Beginning

Prompt: Beginning

Pairing: Pre Rose/Nine

Rating: PG

It started when he grabbed the hand of a young human female in the basement of that 21st century department store. Barely out of infancy compared to him but so different that most other humans he'd met. It grew when she'd saved his life until he did something he'd never done before, something he never thought he'd do; he went back.

He'd wanted to impress her by taking her to Platform one five million years in her future. Yeah, he'd flirted with Jabe but it'd never meant anything, not compared to the possibility of losing her so soon after he'd found her. Hell, even knowing Jabe had been killed didn't compare. The next couple adventures had him waffling between wanting to leave her back in her time with her mum and not wanting to let her go.


	5. Denial

Prompt: Denial  
Pairings: Rre -Nine/Rose, Rose/Jack  
Rating:PG

It should have been obvious when he'd been unable to control his mouth seeing her wearing the period appropriate dress in what turned out to be Cardiff, 1869. However, it wasn't until Downing Street that what should have been obvious, what apparently had been obvious to Rose's mum became apparent to him. He hesitated; when he'd realized saving the Earth meant he could lose her, he hesitated. One human shouldn't matter when the entire race was in danger but it was Rose, and she did. Eventually, with her urging, he made what should have been an easy decision. Thankfully, his Rose – hold on, where'd that come from? – was able to justify just why she was worth asking twice when she figured out the best way to make sure they survived rather than just resigning herself to death.

It was because of the revelation that Rose meant more to him than any companion before her that he consented to bringing Adam with them, mostly as a means to distract Rose. It was unfortunate that he turned out to be a prime example of why despite all the potential, he still sometimes refers to humans as stupid apes. He was happy to leave the guy that deserved the title of idiot more than Rickey at home with his parents and was weary of when Rose introduced him to Jack. Yes, he still wanted to bring on another companion as distraction but by this point he wasn't sure about Rose's taste in men. It didn't help that his pride was injured when she implied he wasn't a man and there was something about Captain Jack Harkness that brought out a possessive side he hadn't even realized he had.

Still despite initial reservations, the self-proclaimed conman did actually turn out to be bigger on the inside. The lad's willingness to correct his mistake once he had proof that it was actually his fault went a long way to proving he wasn't just another Adam. So he did his best to hide the possessiveness and jealousy that filled him as Jack and Rose got closer. He gave them space and eventually, Jack regained Rose's trust and they quickly moved through friendship to something more.


	6. Emptiness

It was harder than he thought it'd be, watching Jack and Rose build a relationship he had no part in. They were subtle about it, careful to keep the domestics to a minimum. Still, he saw it in the way Rose started to gravitate towards Jack after they'd escape a particularly perilous situation or the way that the Jack's flirting changed tone; he flirted because it came natural to him not because he was looking for a bed partner. Yet what hurt the most was knowing that if he made his feelings known, both of them would happily open their relationship to him.

What they didn't realize was that his aversion to domestics had nothing to do with domesticity itself. Rather, his aversion stemmed from the reminder of what he'd lost and would never find again. He was nine hundred years old with more than a few hundred years left even if he continued to burn through his regenerations, meanwhile Rose and Jack had a few decades left before they got too old for the adventures that more often than not ended in running and/or fighting for their lives and that was if they forwent a family of their own.

What they didn't understand was the emptiness left by all the losses he'd experienced in his lif. A glaring hole that got slightly bigger with every new companion that eventually left him, whether by choice (usually his, since running seemed to be easier) or death. It would be hard enough knowing that he loved Rose, and Jack too if he was honest with himself, without falling further by allowing them to return his feelings and know him as intimately as they so obviously wanted. To lose them after that, the emptiness would swallow him whole with no chance of bouncing back.

So despite their numerous hints, and more blatant come ons from Jack, he shoved his feelings down and kept his distance.


	7. Alive

Prompt: Alive  
Pairing: Implied Jack/Rose, Pre- Jack/Rose/Nine

He didn't regret it. Sacrificing this body to save her wasn't really much of a sacrifice as far as he was concerned. He also didn't regret kissing her; it was the first, and most likely last, time he'd get to kiss her. He'd lose her over this, even if she handled regeneration well (which he wasn't holding his breath for) having to bring her lover back to life would only reinforce how dangerous his life is.

What he did regret was not explaining regeneration before he was in the middle of it; the fear in her eyes hurt almost as much as the process itself. No time for a better explanation now, the pain was overtaking him.

The first thing he noticed was that sometime during the change, Jack had made it back to the TARDIS. The second thing he noticed is he can't feel a difference between this body and his previous one. His brow furrowed in confusion; that had never happened before. There's always been something noticeably different. His curiosity piqued, he went to ask what he looked like but Rose interrupted as confusion and fear turned to anger.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was regeneration, see Time Lords have a trick to cheat death; every cell changes causing a completely changed look and some changes to personality. Speaking of, how do I look?" He asked, brow furrowing again as he noticed the same Northern accent.

"The same." Both Rose and Jack responded. His old girl, sensing his confusion and curiosity, made a mirror appear before him. He frowned at seeing the same face he'd had before. The only thing he could think of is that the regeneration had gone wrong. Both his companions followed as he moved toward the med bay.

###

An hour later, he'd run every test he could think of short of forcing another regeneration and as far as he could tell, there wasn't anything wrong. There was no regeneration sickness, no ill side effects to not changing, no external signs whatsoever that he'd regenerated at all. Yet, he knew he had; the process had started and the internal damage from taking the Time Vortex from Rose was completely healed. Frankly, it had him utterly baffled.

In that same hour, while the tests ran, he answered Rose and Jack's questions about regeneration so that if (when) it did happen again, they wouldn't be in the dark like they'd have been had this regeneration went the way it should have went. Then came the question that was also his first clue to figuring out what happened,

"How am I alive Doc? I mean, I remember a light and then waking up to Dalek dust. I should have been dead." Jack asked. The Doctor thought about what to tell them before deciding on the truth.

"You were dead. Rose brought you back to life."

"Whatya mean? How did Rose do it, and how is Rose here anyway? I thought you sent her home." Jack questioned.

"I did, but Rose looked into the Heart of the TARDIS and took the Time Vortex into her mind which allowed her to pilot the TARDIS back. She turned the Daleks to dust and brought you back from the dead. She's behind Bad Wolf warning we've had following us." He flashed back to part Bad Wolf's speech,

How can I let go of this, I bring life. As he quoted it to them, other parts of her words came back to him, I can see everything, all that is, all that was, and all that ever will be...I want you safe, my doctor. A thought occurred to him, she'd seen the time lines. That had to be how she knew that Jack needed to be brought back to life, she'd seen his time line end. I want you safe, my Doctor she'd said while able to see time lines. Could that be why he'd not externally regenerated as he should have? Had she seen his new body, and not understanding what was happening decided to 'save' him? It made sense, in fact, it was really the only thing that fit.

"Did I do anything else?" Rose's question brought him out of his thoughts. He thought about explaining his theory but decided to spare her unnecessary guilt until he had a clearer picture of what she'd done. Instead, deciding to focus on them being alive, he said,

"I don't know. Now about a quick trip to Jackie then Barcelona, the planet not the city?"


	8. Dangerous Promise

So long ago now, after the Beast on the Impossible planet, he finally had given in; allowing Rose and Jack to open their relationship for him. On their first night as a trio, both of his now lovers promised him forever, but he couldn't make himself trust it. Sure Jack could, well actually as far as they'd figured out at that point, would surpass him in longevity but Rose wouldn't and soon enough time would catch up or she'd want a family. And just like Jack would never be his first choice, he would never be Jack's; the ex time agent would follow Rose if she ever chose to leave.

Then came Canary Wharf, and the two longest years of his life until his brilliant girl figured out how to return from Pete's World all on her own. He and Jack were overjoyed and it showed as their reunion quickly turned into something meant to happen behind closed doors.

It wasn't until after defeating the Daleks and trying to return both Rose and Jackie to Pete's World. He was met with four 'Are you stupid' looks. When his brows furrowed with confusion, Rose took his hands and gently asked,

"How old do I look to you?" He looked at her, really liked at her. She looked...

"You're not aging as quickly as you should. You look like this should be Game station, not four years later" he said. She shook her head and explained,

"That would be right if I'd been in this dimension the entire time but where it's been two years since Canary Wharf for you and Jack, it's been ten years for me. Doctor, I'm thirty two, not twenty four."

"You're not aging at all." He said, stunned.

"Rose can't stay with us, not with being in the spotlight the way we are. Sooner rather than later someone's going to realize that Rose's youthful secret isn't good genes and cosmetic intervention." Pete said.

"As much as I'd love for my daughter to stay with me, her choice is here with you and Jack. She didn't get to make that choice before, don't take it away from her now." Jackie said. He looked to Rose who nodded in agreement with her mother's words. He acquiesced; as if there was any other choice.

They resumed their adventures and relationship as if it'd never been interrupted but still he couldn't trust the promise of forever. Jack, they knew would never die but though Rose wasn't aging, they didn't know if she could be killed and he also wasn't sure what his botched regeneration meant for him.

Then came the proof he needed both for himself and Rose. Fatally wounded, the three of them; he held off his regeneration as Jack gasped back to life while waiting with baited breath to see what would happen to Rose. Moments later her wound glowed the same gold her eyes had when she'd had the Vortex within her before disappearing as if they'd never been there. When he came to after allowing his regeneration to take him, he found that he hadn't changed yet again.

Finally he allowed himself to believe. Maybe a promise of forever wasn't so dangerous after all. At least not with these two, which really was all he needed or even wanted.


End file.
